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Kitting out a van for euro trip

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AngusDLJ
Posts: 10 - Karma: 25
taking a van around europe next season with a friend.

what are the main things needed when kitting it out?
Mar 18 2013 10:36AM
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LC.
Posts: 5952 - Karma: 2,423
Snow tyres are your number one priority, and highest cost. Plus all that stuff you're meant to carry to be legal (vest, triangle, first aid kit, etc). Chains if you're driving through Austria. iPod link with new tunes and eBooks.
Mar 18 2013 10:40AM
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AngusDLJ
Posts: 10 - Karma: 25
what sort of price do snow tyre's cost and will snow chains not do the same thing?
Mar 18 2013 10:43AM
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LC.
Posts: 5952 - Karma: 2,423
It depends on the size. Anywhere from €250 fitted to €1000+ fitted. If you have snow tyres you'll probably not need to use chains but you need to carry chains in Austria. Snow tyres on their own are way better (and safer) than chains on their own, and less hassle.
Mar 18 2013 11:51AM
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powderhound100
Posts: 2510 - Karma: 144
snow tires safter then chains? Definitely no where near as much as a pa in, but I do believe they have a shorter braking distance and are more effective of getting out of situations where you are stuck in teh snow.
Mar 18 2013 11:54AM
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Laurent.
Posts: 10056 - Karma: 25,313
Snow tires, not the cheap Chinese ones. (No studded tires, regulation is really wack on those).

Chains, mandatory in some places even if you have snow tires.

The van itself. Be smart and get a Renault Espace and throw the seats out (easier done then said) It's the size of a van but lacks the weight and has better thermal/noise insulation. Plus they were driven by sensible parents, unlike vans which are almost exclusively driven by morons and thus will break down.

High visibility jacket and warning triangle. Not having one of those is a 90€ fine on the spot in France.
Mar 18 2013 12:17PM
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AngusDLJ
Posts: 10 - Karma: 25
We were thinking of an 03' Merecedes Sprinter...

Thanks for the advice about tyres and chains..
Mar 18 2013 12:55PM
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Laurent.
Posts: 10056 - Karma: 25,313
Prepare for massive repair bills.

I've done several eurotrips and all with Espaces. Only once we had a problem but that was solved in a French garage with several blows from a hammer.

You can also keep the seats in the Espace and arrange them in poker table mode.

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Mar 18 2013 1:06PM
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AngusDLJ
Posts: 10 - Karma: 25
we would use a car/van that size but there are 2-4 of us in the van and we need it to be big enough to accomodate that many for 6 monthsish...
Mar 18 2013 4:11PM
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Laurent.
Posts: 10056 - Karma: 25,313
Where will you sleep? If you want to sleep inside get a Fiat Ducato camper van. It's roomy enough for four people to sleep but small enough to be easy to drive on narrow mountain roads and passages.

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Mar 18 2013 4:32PM
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AngusDLJ
Posts: 10 - Karma: 25
We plan on converting one over the summer to sleep that many, thought it would be more fun than just buying a campervan straight up
Mar 18 2013 4:35PM
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Laurent.
Posts: 10056 - Karma: 25,313
It can be fun, but a campervan has way more room. Also I've you are going to spend 6 months in that thing it's nice to have certain "luxuries".

You can always buy an old campervan, gut it innards and rebuild the interior yourself.
Then you still have the shell with extra sleeping beds on top.
Mar 18 2013 5:10PM
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Matty_C
Posts: 2598 - Karma: 236
wait a minute. wait a fucking minute. have you thought this through? 1 person in a van for the winter is pretty hardcore. 2 is pushing it, especially if that person is not a female that you're habitually penetrating. more than 2 people in a van? for 6 months? in the winter? madness! 4 dudes in a van? 8 ski boots? who knows how many pairs of skis? absolute lunacy/misery/probable severe mental/physical illness. for more than 2 people a legit campervan is your only viable option, and a big legit one at that. vanning for a winter in the alps is something that could be rewarding solo/as a couple once you've already logged a lot of van time and have the process absolutely on lock. 2+ dudes trying to figure it out as they go along in impossibly cramped conditions sounds like a recipe for a 6 month migraine and ended friendships.
Mar 18 2013 5:58PM
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AngusDLJ
Posts: 10 - Karma: 25
were spending around £2000 on the conversion of the van, insulation, electricty, cooker, everything that you can get in a campervan. I just think its a much sicker project to do the van yourself rather than buying one. That way we can get all the stuff in it that we want. The van is bigger than most common camper vans as well so will probably be more spacious.
Mar 19 2013 5:37AM
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Matty_C
Posts: 2598 - Karma: 236
You can put as many thousand quid's worth of stuff inside it as you like. It's not gonna change the basic challenges which you won't be able to get around.

Challenge 1: Space. A ski season in the alps probably requires more kit than any other choice of trip. Where are you gonna store it all?

Challenge 2: Expense. Presumably the point of going in the van is to chase snow all over the alps. This means you'll be buying day passes mostly (i.e. you won't have a season pass). Even if you only ski half the days of the season, this is gonna work out as several thousand euros worth of lift tickets. Hope you've got a trust fund.

Challenge 3: Drying. Your stuff has to be in the van at all times. This ain't the beach, you can't hang your stuff up to dry on a palm tree. I don't even wanna think about what your van is gonna smell like with 2+dudes' stuff semi permanently wet inside it.

Challenge 4: Your van breaks down- what you gonna do- that's your house. In many cases in the alps, the nearest garage might be fucking miles away. What happens if you need to leave the van at the garage for a couple of days? You gonna live in the garage?


Challenge 5-55. Fuck knows. Millions.

Buy a van, at least spend a summer in it. Summer's a lot more forgiving and you'll be able to figure out how to optimise van living so that by the time you get to the winter you will have most of the challenges figured out.

But mostly, forget trying to spend 6 months living in a van anywhere with more than 1 other person.
Mar 19 2013 11:38AM
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